Pitch changing means for pedal steel guitars



PITCH CHANGING MEANS FOR PEDAL STEEL GUITARS Filed Feb. 18, 1966 .Ean. 21, 1969 A. w. ALIFANO Sheet lll l'll INVENTOR ARTHUR W. ALIF'ANO ATTORNEY Jan. 21, 1969 A. w. ALIFANO 3,422,716

PITCH CHANGING MEANS FOR PEDAL STEEL GUITARS Filed Feb. 18, 1966 Sheet 2 of 2 FIG. 6. L

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IN VENTOR.

ARTHUR W. ALIFANO ATTORNEY United States Patent 8 Claims This invention relates to stringed instruments of the type which are played by picking the strings in the well known manner, and more particularly but not exclusively the invention relates to so-called pedal steel guitars having one or more necks and provided with pedals or the like by means of which the player may raise or lower the pitch of one or more strings to obtain tones above or below those to which the strings are normally basically tuned.

In the prior art there are such stringed instruments having pedal-operated means for raising or lowering the pitch of individual strings. Usually such instruments are custom tuned at the fractory according to the particular specifications provided by the player in advance, and if any changes are subsequently desired by the player he must return the instrument to the factory because of the difiiculty or even impossibility of making the alterations himself.

The present invention contemplates an improved construction provided with novel means for raising or lowering the pitch of individual strings in, theoretically, an infinite number of steps between the extremes of the range proivded. The range, in fact, extends all the way between raising the pitch by tightening the strings to the limit of their elastic strength and lowering the pitch by loosening them to the point where they vibrate below the limit of audibility. Although such extremes are attainable they are not actually used in practice; this range of variation is mentioned merely to illustrate the wide extent of adjustability. Thus, by not limiting the degree of variations in pitch, the player may obtain any tonal effects he desires, even though some of them may sound weird.

Another object of the invention is the provision of novel pedal-operated means whereby all of the strings on each neck of the instrument may be selectively tensed or loosened by the player to produce any tone within the available range, such changing of pitch being quickly and easily accomplished.

Still another object is the provision of a multiplicity, that is, two or more separate pedal-operated means for each neck wherein each such means serves to provide a different set of tone variations in selected strings, thereby doubling or multiplying the number of different tones which the same strings may emit. Thus any combination of raising or lowering pitch is possible; a single pedal can simultaneously raise, say, three strings while lowering two other strings. Strings can be activated as many times as the number of pedals on a neck, giving as many possible different pitches; for example, pedal No. l can raise a G-string one-half tone, pedal No. 2 can raise the same string one full tone, and pedal No. 3 can lower the the same string one-half tone.

The above broad as well as additional objects will be clarified in the following description wherein reference numerals refer to like-numbered parts in the accompanying drawing.

Referring briefly to the drawing, FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a pedal steel guitar embodying features of the present invention, showing, merely for the purpose of illustration, a single neck provided with only three strings.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away and partly in section.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4-4- of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 7--7 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 88 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of a pair of cam members, showing, broken away and partly in section, the shaft on which they are pivoted.

Referring in detail to the drawing wherein only three strings are shown on a single neck since such limited showing is sufficient to illustrate the invention, the numeral 10 designates the neck or panel of the instrument which is supported on legs 11 such as that shown in FIG. 2. The :usual so-called nut is shown at 12, the three strings at 13, 14, 15, and the usual tuning screws at 16. Merely for the purpose of simplifying this disclosure, the end of the panel 10 on which the nut is mounted will be deemed the front end of the panel, and the term longitudinal as applied to movement of any part will be deemed to mean longitudinal with respect to the panel 10.

At the rear end of the panel a cut-out or opening 17 is provided, in the opposed side walls of which a shaft 18 is mounted. Pivotally mounted side by side on the shaft 18, are shown three identical rockers 19, commonly known as tone-changing levers. Each such rocker has a rounded head or body 20, an elongated forwardly-extending arm 21 and a downwardly extending leg 22, the latter two being preferably provided with frictionless extremities which may be rollers 23 and 23a, respectively, or ball bearings or the like.

Forward of the opening 17, bracket arms 24 extend downward from the panel 10 and support a shaft 25 on which three identical plate-like stop members or stops 26, also one for each string, are mounted pivotally; these members are preferably of the same thickness as, and lie in common vertical planes with, the rockers 19. The rearwardly facing edge of each stop 26 provides an approximately V-shaped obtuse-angled notch 27 having a lower sloping side or surface 2 8 and an upper approximately vertical side or surface 29, the base 27a of the notch being rounded. At its upper extremity the member 26 has a rearwardly extending projection or hook 60. Each rocker 19 has a depending threaded lug or the like 30 to which with the aid of a screw 31 one end of a tensed resilient link 32 is secured; this link is shown made up of a turnbuckle 61 and a spring 62. Each stop 26 has means, such as a hole 33 off-set from the shaft 25, by means of which the free end of the spring 62 is attached thereto. Each link 32 thus lies in a common plane with one stop 26 and one rocker 19.

Rearward, that is, on the right, FIG. 2, of each rocker 19 is a pair of partly dissimilar approximately Y-shaped cam members 34, 35, each member of which pair has approximately one-half the thickness of a rocker 19. Each such pair of cam members lies in a common vertical plane with one rocker, but for the purpose of identification it may be considered that each member 34, 35 of a pair is coplanar with a rocker. All the members 34 are identical to each other, and so are also the members 35. Each member 35 has an upwardly and rearwardly extending arm 36, and all the arms 36 are pivotally mounted on a shaft 37 positioned rearward of the opening 17 and supported in brackets 38. The members 34 also have arms 36 identical to those on the members 35 and they also are pivoted on the shaft 37. All the members 34, 35 have their rear edges preferably shaped concavely to provide cam-like surfaces, and they also have upwardly and forwardly extending stub arms indicated at 40 for the members 34 and 41 for the members 35; the arms 40 are all identical to each other, as are also the arms 41 to each other. Except for their stub arms, the members 34 and 35 are all alike. In the embodiment illustrated, the bottom of the panel has a gouge 63 to permit clearance of the upper ends of the members 26.

The various movable elements discussed above are shown in their inactive or neutral positions. The stub arm 41 of each member 35 has 'a flat substantially planar cam surface 42 on its outer edge inclined at a rearwardly sloping upwardly extending angle, while the stub arm 40 has a flat substantially planar cam surface 43 inclined at a forwardly sloping upwardly extending angle. Each pair of members 34, 35, being positioned directly behind a member 19, is engaged by the extremity 23a of the leg 22 of that rocker. Thus, as illustrated, the extremity 23a of each leg 22 normally registers in and is constrained in an angular seat 64 formed by the two mutually adjacent stub arms 40, 41, since the said extremity 23a has a sufficient Width and is so positioned, FIGS. 7 and 9, as to lie partly in the plane of each of the two stub arms.

It is now apparent that upon swinging the member 35 clockwise, FIGS. 2 and 9, while member 34 remains stationary, the cam action of the edge 42 on the extremity 23a of leg 22 will swing the corresponding rocker 19 also clockwise. Normally, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 9, the locking position in which the extremity 23a is held in the angular seat 64, FIG. 9, results in the extremity 23 of the arm 21 being held in normal neutral position such as is shown in FIGS. 2 and 8, registering in the rounded base 27a of the notch 27 of the stop member 26. The tension of the link 32 maintains the stop 26 in engagement with the arm 21. As the member 35 is swung clockwise to swing the rocker 19 clockwise, the extremity 23 of arm 21 will ride up the surface 29, the hook 60 providing a limit stop to such movement.

Assuming, now, that the member 35 remains stationary while the member 34 of the pair swings clockwise, the extremity 23a which is in contact with the surface 43 of the stub arm 40, will be raised to turn the rocker 19 counterclockwise, whence the extremity 23 of the arm 21 will ride down the surface 28 of the stop 26. As shown, each of the strings 13, 14, is passed around the head of a rocker 19 and is anchored thereto at 45 in any desired manner.

One or more pedal-operated mechanisms or linkages are provided, two such being shown at 46 and 46a, actuated by pedals 47 and 47a, respectively. Since such mechanisms are common and function generally in a well-known manner, only the one shown at 46 will be described, briefly. A spring 48 normally retains the pedal in inactive neutral position, to which it is limited by a stopscrew 49. Depressing the pedal causes the elongated rod 50 to move to the left, FIG. 2; a screw 51 provides a limit stop to the degree of depression of the pedal. The rod 50 is attached through a spring 52 to a rectangular frame 53. Plate-like bracket arms 54 extend downward from the panel 10 on both sides of the pairs of members 34, 35. The frame 53 is longitudinally slidably mounted in co-planar grooves 55 in the bracket arms 54, both ends of the grooves being shown blocked by stops 56. All of the members 34, 35 extend downward through the frame, as shown.

For each member 34, 35 of each pair of such members, a set screw 57, 58, respectively, extends through the rear frame member or bar 59 of the frame 53 directly behind the cam member. Such screws are selectively and individually adapted to be screwed toward or away from the cam members. Assuming that the screws are in their respective positions shown in FIG. 3 and that the pedal 47 is depressed to pull the rod 50 to the left, then the lowermost screw 58 is set to engage the lowermost (FIG. 3) member 35 and tilt it clockwise. Hence, as previously described, the corresponding rocker 19 is turned clockwise to tighten the string 14 and thereby raise its pitch, the degree of such raise obviously being proportional to the distance the set screw has been screwed into the frame opening.

Assuming now that the relative positions of the said lowermost screw 58 and its immediately adjacent neighbor 57 are interchanged, then on moving the frame 53 to the left, only the screw 57 will engage and swing the corresponding cam member 34 clockwise, whence the rocker 19 will swing counter-clockwise and thus loosen the string 14 and lower its pitch. Thus each string may have its pitch selectively raised or lowered to any desired degree within the limits mentioned above. Upon release of the pedal 46 the normal tension of the resilient links 32 (61, 62) restores the rockers 19 and hence also the cam members 34, 35 and the stops 26, to their normal neutral position.

A second identical frame 53a is shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 7, similarly operable by the pedal 47a, and a third identical frame 53b is shown in phantom only in FIG. 2 to indicate how a plurality of such frames, all provided with set screws such as 57, 58 can be used to greatly increase the variations in pitch attainable on the strings of a single neck. For a two or three neck instrument, similar pitch varying means may be applied to each neck in an obvious manner. As previously mentioned, each instrument neck normally has more than the three strings illustrated and it is obvious how the instant invention may be applied to any instrument or neck regardless of the number of strings it possesses. Should it be desired to leave the pitch of any string unchanged from its basic tuning, both set screws 57, 58 which control such string are unscrewed a sufiicient distance to prevent their engaging the corresponding cam member upon actuation of a pedal.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to the embodiment illustrated in the drawing, such is not to be construed as a limitation upon the invention which is best defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A stringed musical instrument including a panel having a given number of playing strings thereon, tuning keys at the front end of the panel anchoring the front ends of said strings thereto and maintaining the strings tensed in normally tuned condition, said panel having an opening therethrough at the rear end thereof, a first transverse shaft extending across said opening, a number of rockers equal to said given number mounted side by side on said first shaft and having rounded heads protruding above the panel, the rear ends of said strings being anchored on said heads, a second transverse shaft positioned below and rearward of said first shaft, supports securing said second shaft to the panel, a number of cam members equal to twice said given number pivotally mounted on said second shaft, said cam members having approximately one-half the thickness of said rockers and being provided in pairs, each pair of said pairs lying in a common plane with one of said rockers, each of said rockers including a downward extension having a rounded extremity, the cam members of each of said pairs having cam surfaces in engagement with said rounded extremity on the rocker co-planar therewith, longitudinally movable first means for tilting said cam members in one rotational direction from a normal neutral position, one cam member of each of said pairs having the cam surface thereof shaped to tilt its co-planar rocker in said rotational direction to tighten the string anchored thereto upon movement of said first me'ans in one longitudinal direction from a normal neutral position and the other cam member of each of said pairs having the cam surface thereof shaped to tilt said co-planar rocker in the opposite rotational direction to loosen said string upon movement of said first means in said one longitudinal direction, said first means including adjustable means for selectively engaging said first means with either one of each pair of cam members, spring-biased pedal-0perated means for moving said first means in said one longitudinal direction, and means for automatically tilting said rockers in the opposite rotational direction to restore the same and hence also said cam members to neutral inactive position upon release of said pedal-operated means.

2. A stringed musical instrument according to claim 1, said cam surfaces of each pair of cam members lying approximately at right angles to each other thereby forming an angular seat in which said extremity of said co-planar rocker normally registers.

3. A stringed musical instrument according to claim 1, said first means comprising a transverse bar positioned rearward of said cam members, said adjustable means comprising threaded openings through said bar provided with set screws therein, means constraining said bar to longitudinal movement, said threaded openings being equal in number to the number of said cam members and being positioned in the planes of the cam members, said one direction of said longitudinal movement being that in which said bar moves toward said cam members.

4. A stringed musical instrument according to claim 1, said first means comprising a rectangular frame positioned under said panel in a plane substantially parallel thereto, means constraining said frame to longitudinal movement, said cam members extending downward through the opening defined by the frame, said adjustable means comprising threaded openings in the rear side of said frame provided with set screws extending into said frame opening, said threaded openings being equal in number to the number of said cam members and being positioned in the planes of the cam members, said one direction of longitudinal movement being that in which said frame moves forward and hence said rear side of the frame moves toward said cam members.

5. A stringed musical instrument according to claim 1, said first means comprising a transverse bar positioned rearward of said cam members and at least one additional transverse bar positioned rearward of said cam members and spaced vertically from said first-named bar, means constraining said bars to longitudinal movement, said adjustable means comprising threaded openings through said bars provided with set screws therein, said threaded openings in each of said bars being equal in number to the number of said cam members and being positioned in the vertical planes of the cam members, said one direction of longitudinal movement being that in which said bars move toward said cam members, said pedal-operated means consisting of at least two separably operable means selectively operable upon said bars.

'6. A stringed musical instrument according to claim 4, said means constraining said frame to longitudinal movement comprising plates extending downward from said panel and provided with grooves in the opposed walls thereof, said frame being slidably mounted in said grooves.

7. A stringed musical instrument according to claim 1, having a third transverse shaft positioned below and forward of said first shaft and supports securing the same to said panel, said third shaft having pivoted thereon a number of upwardly extending stop members equal to said given number, each stop member lying in the plane of one of said rockers and having an approximately V-shaped notch in the rear edge thereof, the notches being defined by a generally upwardly extending side and a generally downwardly extending side and a rounded base between said sides, each of said rockers having a forwardly extending arm having a rounded extremity registering in said notch, said means for tilting said rockers in said opposite rotational direction comprising tensed resilient links securing each said stop to its co-planar rocker to maintain said arm extremity normally in said base of the notch, said upwardly extending side of the notch having a rearward pnojection thereon providing a limit stop to the upward movement of said arm extremity thereon.

8. A stringed musical instrument including a panel having a given number of playing strings thereon, tuning keys at one end of the panel having one endof said strings secured thereto, a number of tone-changing levers equal to said given number at the other end of said panel having the other ends of said strings anchored thereto, a plurality of separate pedal-operated means, a separate means interposed between each of said pedal-operated means and all of said levers for selectively varying the tension on said strings, each of said separate interposed means including adjustable means for simultaneously increasing or decreasing the tension on all of said strings to pre-adjusted pitches which differ from each other upon actuation of any one of the pedal-operated means whereby upon actuation of any one of the pedal-operated means any group of said strings less than said given number may have their tension increased to a first set of pitches which differ from each other While simultaneously the remaining group of said strings may have their tension decreased to a second set of pitches which differ from each other and from said first set of pitches.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,973,682 3/1961 Fender -84312 3,014,395 12/1961 Blair 84--312 3,136,198 6/1964 Smith et a1. 843 12 3,352,188 11/1967 Fender 84-312 RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner.

LAWRENCE R. FRANKLIN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT INCLUDING A PANEL HAVING A GIVEN NUMBER OF PLAYING STRINGS THEREON, TURNING KEYS AT THE FRONT END OF THE PANEL ANCHORING THE FRONT ENDS OF SAID STRINGS THERETO AND MAINTAINING THE STRINGS TENSED IN NORMALLY TUNED CONDITION, SAID PANEL HAVING AN OPENING THERETHROUGH AT THE REAR END THEREOF, A FIRST TRANSVERSE SHAFT EXTENDING ACROSS SAID OPENING, A NUMBER OF ROCKERS EQUAL TO SAID GIVEN NUMBER MOUNTED SIDE BY SIDE ON SAID FIRST SHAFT AND HAVING ROUNDED HEADS PROTRUDING ABOVE THE PANEL, THE REAR ENDS OF SAID STRINGS BEING ANCHORED ON SAID HEADS, A SECOND TRANSVERSE SHAFT POSITIONED BELOW AND REARWARD OF SAID FIRST SHAFT, SUPPORTS SECURING SAID SECOND SHAFT TO THE PANEL, A NUMBER OF CAM MEMBERS EQUAL TO TWICE SAID GIVEN NUMBER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID SECOND SHAFT, SAID CAM MEMBERS HAVING APPROXIMATELY ONE-HALF THE THICKNESS OF SAID ROCKERS AND BEING PROVIDED IN PAIRS, EACH PAIR OF SAID PAIRS LYING IN A COMMON PLANE WITH ONE OF SAID ROCKERS, EACH OF SAID ROCKERS INCLUDING A DOWNWARD EXTENSION HAVING A ROUNDED EXTREMITY, THE CAM MEMBERS OF EACH OF SAID PAIRS HAVING CAM SURFACES IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID ROUNDED EXTREMITY ON THE ROCKER CO-PLANAR THEREWITH, LONGITUDINALLY MOVABLE FIRST MEANS FOR TILTING SAID CAM MEMBERS IN ONE ROTATIONAL DIRECTION FROM A NORMAL NEUTRAL POSITION, ONE CAM MEMBER OF EACH OF SAID PAIRS HAVING THE CAM SURFACE THEREOF SHAPED TO TILT ITS CO-PLANAR ROCKER IN SAID ROTATIONAL DIRECTION TO TIGHTEN THE STRING ANCHORED THERETO UPON MOVEMENT OF SAID FIRST MEANS IN ONE LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION FROM A NORMAL NEUTRAL POSITION AND THE OTHER CAM MEMBER OF EACH OF SAID PAIRS HAVING THE CAM SURFACE THEREOF SHAPED TO TILT SAID CO-PLANAR ROCKER IN THE OPPOSITE ROTATIONAL DIRECTION TO LOOSEN SAID STRING UPON MOVEMENT OF SAID FIRST MEANS IN SAID ONE LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION, SAID FIRST MEANS INCLUDING ADJUSTABLE MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY ENGAGING SAID FIRST MEANS WITH EITHER ONE OF EACH PAIR OF CAM MEMBERS, SPRING-BIASED PEDAL-OPERATED MEANS FOR MOVING SAID FIRST MEANS IN SAID ONE LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION, AND MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY TILTING SAID ROCKERS IN THE OPPOSITE ROTATIONAL DIRECTION TO RESTORE THE SAME AND HENCE ALSO SAID CAM MEMBERS TO NEUTRAL INACTIVE POSITION UPON RELEASE OF SAID PEDAL-OPERATED MEANS. 